December 2020 Athlete of the Month - Kieran Maenza

One of the first times I met Kieran was about a year ago in class when we were back squatting. He was new to the gym but had lifting experience from his days in football and rugby. When told he played those sports, you would say “yeah that makes sense.” He’s a big dude. Kieran didn’t have a 1RM number to work off of for squats so we told him to just see how he feels. Well he felt like hitting 5 reps at 365. That was impressive to see for a new guy coming into the gym. Kieran is a powerful athlete. You can see it when he squats and when he’s on the machines. Under the surface of his power is a humble, extremely coachable athlete who is willing to learn technique and ways to improve. In early July, I was asked by Erica (who introduced Keiran to the gym) to go to her house and coach a private class for their whole crew for her husband Jason’s birthday. The friendship between all of them is awesome. There’s so much support and friendly competition. Collectively, they had some weights and Kieran had rented a rower from the gym. Health and Fitness is clearly a priority for the group. One thing I noticed during that day was Kieran had trimmed down and looked cut up. I let Coach Kyle know the next day and said “He’s put in a lot of work during this time when the gym wasn’t open.” I hope he continues with it in classes. He’s going to be an Athlete of the Month for sure.” It’s an honor to be able to follow through on my thought from July. The hard work continues as Keiran recently climbed rope for the first time and there is no question he shouldn’t be on the high rings this year. Keep it up!

Written by: Coach Rob Moloney

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Q&A
Why did you start training crossfit?
Last January I had been going to a regular gym and wasn’t holding myself accountable with working out everyday and just feeling pretty down about my health; after a few weeks of coaxing, my coworker Erica got me to come to a class with her at Island Park.  I was ready for a change and to lose some weight/challenge myself and after struggling through a workout and feeling super sore the next day I knew that Crossfit was for me.

What’s your background? (Athletic)
I played football in high school.  I was a lineman so much of the off-season was focused on lifting heavy and eating as much as possible to put on weight.  Needless to say cardio was never my friend.  After hurting my knee my senior year I decided to switch to playing rugby in college.

How long have you been a member and how long have you been doing CrossFit?
My first Crossfit class was here at Island Park last January.  I had never done any sort of cross training or HIIT type workouts before then.

What is your favorite thing about the gym?
Its hard to pick just one favorite thing about the gym, so I’ll pick two.  1) The members. I have always been a solitary person when working out in the past.  The type to put in their headphones and blast music for a few hours and not talk to other people in the gym so I was pretty hesitant when thinking about the switch to group classes.  However after the first week I felt like part of a community and welcomed by people who shared a similar mindset for fitness.  2) The programming. The continued evolution from one exercise to the next keeps me focused and I enjoy the progression I see. It is very apparent that the there is time and thought put into every workout just by reading the intent and hearing what the stimulus should be.

What is the biggest challenge you have overcome since joining the gym?
Being comfortable with myself if I need to scale an exercise and realize that I don’t need to redline every workout and to listen to my body so that I can stay consistent and avoid injury.

What is your favorite moment at the gym so far?
My favorite moment at the gym so far has to be my first handstand pushup.  I always say that I am not built to be upside-down so being able to first do a handstand hold and then an actual pushup was such an accomplishment for me.

What's your favorite "cheat" food?
Reese’s big cups, I can’t go to a gas station without picking up a pack.

What would you say to someone who is thinking about starting?
Its okay to be nervous when starting something new but starting Crossfit is one thing you won’t regret; I certainly haven’t.  It can seem intimidating at first but before long you will surprise yourself with how much work you and your body are capable of.

What drives you?
One thing that drives me is the mental health benefit I get from pushing myself.  I love having an hour set aside everyday where I have nothing else to worry/think about besides finishing the next rep; especially during this year having an activity to keep my mind off the pressures of the world has been such a relief.  Second is never being content with where I am currently, I like setting small goals that I know are a little outside my reach and see if I can achieve them in the short term.  Making many short term goals prevents me from getting discouraged because I can see the progress I am making.

What is your biggest fitness goal right now?
The long term fitness goal for this year is a muscle up.  In the short term it is getting comfortable enough with double-unders to do them in WODs.